Printing mechanism for registering machines



ullll lll lllllllllll llllll ul 3 Sheets-Sheet l H. PLASSCHAERT PRINTINGMECHANISM FOR REGISTERING MACHINES Filed June 1 June 5, 1923.

June 5,1923.

H. PLASSCHAERT PRINTING MECHANISM FOR REGISTERING MACHINES sSheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 1. 1921 11% MA 7- "Wa June 5, 1923. 1,457,391

H. PLASSCHAERT PRINTING MECHANfSM FOR REGISTERING MACHINES Filed June 1,1921 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 circle.

Patented June 5, 1923.

HECTOR PLASSCHAERT, 0F WACHTEBEKE-LEZGAND, BELGIUM.

PRINTING MECHANISM FOR REGISTERING MACHINES.

Application filed June 1,

T 0 all whom it may concern: I

Be it known that I, HECTOR PLASSCHAERT, manufacturer, ofWachtebeke-lez-Gand, Belgium, have invented new and useful Improvementsin Printing Mechanism for Registering Machines, of which the following1s a specification.

-;In the Plasschaert'system apparatus for registering the arrival ofcarrier pigeons which forms the object of the Belgian Patents Nos.186,825186,896-204,138-and 213,204, one of the particular featuresconsists in the mechanism for printing the time on the paper band, bymeans of a roller which presses the band against a plate.

As is well known, the use of a roller enables a very clear impression tobe obtained, at high speed, by exerting on the paper band a pressurerelatively very light for pressing the band against the plate.

The object of the present invention is a new mechanism for operating theroller in question.

In the Plasschaert apparatus described in the inventions cited above,the movement of the roller which produces the impression takes placeunder the action of a return spring acting through flexible connectionson the ends of the shaft of the said roller, so as to cause a suddenmovement of the latter during the printing stroke. Each end of the shaftis guided bythe groove in a support.

This groove is composed of a horizontal portion which is connected atits two ends with a portion-having the form of are of a The horizontalportion thus forms the chord of thecurved portion andserves forguidingthe roller during the printing stroke. Y i

.In order to produce an impression on the paper band, the ends of theroller shaft are first .moved in the curved portion of the guidinggrooves, by the action on the ends of the roller shaftof two hookeddriving arms, which are pivoted at the geometric center of the saidcurved portions.

When the ends of the roller shaft thus driven have traversed the curvedguides and have arrived oppoiste the straight horizontal guides; theyare automatically released bv the hooks and arethen brought backsuddenly by a return spring but follow the horizontal portions of theguiding grooves. These horizontal'port'ions are parallel to the plane,of the plate so that the roller passes rapidly'over the paper bandplaced above the 1921. Serial No. 474,255.

said plate and thus produces the desired im ression.

n the new printing mechanism, the hooked driving arms used for bringingthe roller into the operating position have been done away with andreplaced by a geared winch mechanism with automatic release secured bythe special teeth in the said gears, the supports with straight andcurved guiding grooves have also been done away with and replaced byguiding supports with double straight grooves.

These changes enable the dimensions of the apparatus to be reduced bothin width and to a greater amount in height.

oreover, in the former mechanism, the adjustment of the pressure exertedby the roller for printing on the paper band is effected by raising orlowering the plate together with the clock movement which drives thehands of the dials which mark the time, whereas the roller guides remainfixed.

In the new mechanism, the adjustment is made in the opposite way, thatis to say, the plate and the clock movement remain fixed, while theroller shaft guides can be brought closer to or moved away from theplane of the plate.

Simply for demonstrative purposes, a method of constructing the newprinting mechanism is represented of the accompanying drawing, on which:

Fig. 1 is an elevation and Fig. 2 is a plan view, from above, showingthe assembly, while Figs. 3 to 6 are diagrams of the winch mechanism andthe roller guiding runway for bringing the roller into the position forbeing automatically released and causing the release.

These diagrams show the roller and its driving chain as well as theautomatic return winch gearing in the different positions occupied up tothe moment of release.

Figs. 7 to 10 are diagrams showing the different positions occupied bythe single toothed gear which produces the intermittent rotaion of thedrum with compartments called the ring drum (for receiving the ringsdesignating-the pigeons). These positions correspond respectively tothose of the winch mechanism shown in Figs. 8 to 6.

The diagrammatic mechanism shown in Figs. 7 to 10 having been completelydescribed in the former patents citedabove in connection with theprintingmechanism, it

will not be otherwise mentioned in the following and the description aswell as the claims will be strictly limited to the particular featuresof the new mechanism for op erating the printing roller.

The latter mechanism, diagramed in Figs. 3 to 6, is constituted andoperates as indi cated hereafter.

The shaft 12 of the printing roller 13 pivots, at each of its ends, in abearing 1 carried by a chain 15.

In the initial position shown in Fig. 3, the upper end of the chain iswound on the drum of a spring barrel 16, while its lower end iscompletely unwound from a drum 17. Between the two drums, the chains 15pass around idler pulleys 18 placed at a level somewhat lower than thedrum 16. v

A gear 19 with interrupted teeth 20 is mounted on a shaft 21 which canbe rotated by a crank not shown. This gear has an end tooth 22 largerthan the others for engaging the end tooth of the interrupted teeth 23of a gear 24: mounted on the shaft 25 of the counter drum 17.

The shaft 21 carries, in addition, at the end nearest the crank a gear25 whose single tooth 26 engages the teeth of a gear 27 mounted on theshaft 28 of the ring drum 29. (Figs. 7, 8 and'9.)

Each tooth of the gear 27 corresponds with one of the compartments 30 ofthe ring drum; the gear 27 turns therefore through an anglecorresponding to one of the compartments 30 when the crank operating theshaft 21 makes one revolution.

The crank turns the shaft 21 and the gear 19 in the direction indicatedby the arrow 31, the said gear 19 in turn driving the gear 24: as shownin Figures 1 and 5, which. causes the chains 15 to wind on the counterdrum 17.

In the position shown in Figure 6, the disengagement of the teeth freesthe gear 24, and the chain 15 is pulled back by the action of theantagonistic spring placed in the barrel 16 but not represented.

The said chain then unwinds from the counter drum 17 is wound again onthe drum of the barrel 16 bringing the roller back to its initialposition as shown in Figure 3.

During the movement of the chain wind ing onto the counter drum 17 theprinting roller 13 is carried along by the said chain and movedlongitudinally as shown in Figures 3 to 6.

During this movement of the roller, the bearings 14; which sup ort itsshaft fen counter 'a runway 32 placed horizontally. The runway thereforemakes a certain angle. with the upper length of chain which isinclin'ed.

The passage of the bearing 14 on the upper surface of the abovementioned runway, causes a raising oftheupp'er length of chain. asclearly shown in Fig. 5, "it being noted that the dotted line wouldrepresent the normal direction of the chain it the runway was not there.lVIoreover, the bearings exert pressure on the runway since the chain istightened by the action of the spring in the barrel 16.

\Vhen the bearing 14- reaches the end of the runway 32, it is releasedfrom the runway by the tension of the chain and takes the position shownin 6. At the same time, the driving gear 19 releases the driven gear 24as shown in the said Fig. 6, on account of its interrupted teeth.

The gear 24 being thus freed, the chain 15 comes back suddenly, onaccount of being rewound on the drum of the spring drum 1G, and themechanism returns to the position indicated in Fig. 3.

During the sudden return of the chain, the bearings 14- of the roller 13come back, guiding on the lower surface of the runway 32, and, duringthis return stroke, the said roller exerts a pressure on the paper band33 so as to press it against the plate 3 1 (Fig. 1) and produce theimpression.

So as to better insure the engagement of the bearing 14 successively onthe two surfaces of the runway 32, the two ends of the runway arebeveled at'35 and 36.

From the above, it results that the ring drum advances one compartmentfor each impression produced by the roller.

In the practical eonstructi on of the mechanism as shown in Fig. 1, thediagrammatic runway 32 with two surfaces is supplemented by twosuperimposed guide grooves 37 and 38.

The driving mechanism for the paper band 33 and the arrangement of theinking ribbon being, in principle, identical with those described in theformer inventions cited above, no special indication will be givenconcerning them.

It will be perceived, without other explanation, that the pressureexerted by the roller for pressing the paper band 33 against the plate34: may be easily regulated by lowering or raising more or less thedouble groove for guiding the shaft of the said roller. v

The device enablincr the double guide grooves to be raised or lowered atwill is not described or represented herein as any craftsman is capableof constructing immediately and easily such a device, which besides doesnot form a particular feature of the invention.

What I claim is. f

1. Printing mechanism of the class described, comprising a drum, springrotated in one direction, a counter drum, flexible e1einent's connectingsaid drums, a roller carried biysaid flexible elements and movabletherewith back and forth between the drums, a runway for the rollerarranged at an angle to said flexible elements to cause said roller tomove on one side thereof as said roller travels from the drum to thecounter drum and to move on the opposite side thereof as said rollertravels in the reverse direction, and a printing element, opposite thelast named side of the runway and against which said roller imparts aprinting impression as said roller travels from the counter drum to thedrum.

2. Printing mechanism of the class described, comprising a drum, springrotated in one direction, a counter drum, flexible elements connectingsaid drums, a roller carried by said flexible elements and movabletherewith back and forth between the drums, a runway for the rollerarranged at an angle to said flexible elements to cause said roller tomove on one side thereof as said roller travels from the drum to thecounter drum and to move on the opposite side thereof as said rollertravels in the reverse direction, and a printing element, opposite thelast named side of the runway and against which said roller imparts aprinting impression as said roller travels from the counter drum to thedrum, and means to operate the counter drum.

3. Printing mechanism of the class described, comprising a drum, springrotated in one direction, a counter drum, flexible elements connectingsaid drums, a roller carried by said flexible elements and movabletherewith back and forth between the drums, a runway for the rollerarranged at an angle to said flexible elements to cause said roller tomove on one side thereof as said roller travels from the drum to thecounter drum and to move on the opposite side thereof as said rollertravels in the reverse direction, a printing element, opposite the lastnamed side of the runway and against which said roller imparts aprinting impression as said roller travels from the counter driun to thedrum, and means, including a shaft geared to the counter drum to operatethe counter drum.

4:, Printing mechanism of the class described, comprising a drum, springrotated in one direction, a counter drum, flexible elements connectingsaid drums, a roller carried by said flexible elements and movabletherewith back and forth between the drums, a runway for the rollerarranged at an angle to said flexible elements to cause said roller tomove on one side thereof as said roller travels from the drum to thecounter drum and to move on the opposite side thereof as said rollertravels in the reverse direction, a printing element, opposite the lastnamed side of the runway and against which said roller imparts aprinting impression as said roller travels from the counter drum to thedrum, and controlling means, including a driving shaft and interruptedgears connecting said shaft to the counter drum, to alternately operateand release the counter drum.

In witness whereof I aflix my signature.

HECTOR PLASSCHAERT. Witnesses:

J. MAY, J. DURIOUR.

